September 30 - Dube - Chinese Philosophy

[Anonymous]

I also sent this to Prof Dube since it was an assignmnt. Shauna Rae

Note: This should have been posted last week, but I was out of town on vacation.

My Father Broke a Serious Chinese Law

As a practictioner of Legalism, what should I do about my father’s crime against the state? He was fully aware of his criminal intent, yet he chose to disobey and follow his human nature’s of selfishness. Where is his self-control he so methodically ingrained into my childhood upbringing?

What tempted him to accept the reward of many yen and, thus, believe he was better than others and somehow above the law?

I must not lie or be less than absolutely truthful. My love for my father is great, but my love for China and her power is greater. We will only survive through strength to fight our enemies and through loyalty to public laws and to our ruler.

Laws matter, or else we will fall in to “chaos and dismemberment”.

Tomorrow, I will leave my farm duties behind and journey to the Imperial Court to perform my duty to my country and its people.

signed in 300 BCE in the Year of the Rat

[Anonymous]

Note: This should have been posted last week, but I was out of town on vacation.

My Father Broke a Serious Chinese Law

As a practictioner of Legalism, what should I do about my father’s crime against the state? He was fully aware of his criminal intent, yet he chose to disobey and follow his human nature’s of selfishness. Where is his self-control he so methodically ingrained into my childhood upbringing?

What tempted him to accept the reward of many yen and, thus, believe he was better than others and somehow above the law?

I must not lie or be less than absolutely truthful. My love for my father is great, but my love for China and her power is greater. We will only survive through strength to fight our enemies and through loyalty to public laws and to our ruler.

Laws matter, or else we will fall in to “chaos and dismemberment”.

Tomorrow, I will leave my farm duties behind and journey to the Imperial Court to perform my duty to my country and its people.

[Anonymous]

The culminatoin of b's 6 year quest.

FORUM POSTING by S. RAe

Smith, Huston. The World’s Religions. San Francisco: Harper, 1991.

Buddha’s “convictions about life” are The Four Nobel Truths:

First NT is that life is dukkha--suffering--”the pain that to some degree colors all finite existence." In Pali it means “axel is off-center, or bones that had slipped from their sockets." All of life is suffering because we have been “estranged from reality” oif unity or wholeness.

Second NT is to know the cause of our suffering is tanha--”a specific kind of desire” from all kinds of selfishness--aka as craving--

Third NT is to overcome our separateness from all things. coolsville concept!

Fourth NT is overcoming of tanha through getting on the 8-fold path, which begins with the initial step to give thanks for “the company of the holy,"which according to the Indian philospher Shankara,” is known as right association, then. . .

Right views

Right intent

Right speech

Right conduct

Right livelihood

Right effort

Right mindfulness

Right concentration

Thus, we can rid ourselves of “delusion, craving, and hostility” (99-112).

[Anonymous]

S. Rae

"If there was no laughter, the Tao would not be what it is."
Lao-tzu

from Alan Watts's Tao: The Watercourse Way

[Anonymous]

I am so glad the debate didn't end up with a fist fight. The debate provides us an example how we can cooperate the topic of Chinese philosophy into our own classroom. I went with my students to Pacific Asia Museum and we loved the exhibition--Confucius Shaping Values Through Art. The showroom breaks down the Confucius thoughts into pieces of daily life objects. And a video about the differences/similarities/community members' view about Confucius at the end of the show is inspiring. My students filled in the survey provided by the museum and worked hard on that one; good news is that you can get a free postcard if you turn in the survey to the museum.

[Anonymous]

I'd like more information about your trip to the Pacific Asia Museum in regards to the flow of the day, etc. I always look for an opportunity for my students to to a museum trip to experience some firsthand material that we are studying. Thanks for reference to the Museum (I just googled it online). I took my class to the Museum Downtown and the most they remembered was the workshop in Origami. Has anyone else visited the Pacific Asia Museum or have any other suggestions for 6th grade Ancient East Asia?

[Anonymous]

Wow, this lecture was a little overwhelming for me! While I appreciate the various religious/spiritual traditions that we were introduced to, I have a really difficult time understanding them and conceptualizing their tenets in a meaningful way. My initial thought is that my difficulty internalizing them stems from a fundamental lack of cultural awareness of eastern culture or epistemology. Having been raised in mono-theistic religion and bombarded with specific notions of good/evil, life/death and right/wrong, some the eastern philosophies were so foreign to my mind that I really had a difficult time articulating their "meaning" or "message". I am however, intrigued. I also really enjoyed the practice that the debate offered. I was able to more clearly understand how each philosophy differed and some practical application of the beliefs.

[Anonymous]

Hi!

I think this lecture and the lecture on Chinese poetry are the two that I will remember and think about most! I am not a fan of philosophy in general, but I really enjoyed this lecture and have continued to reflect on it. I also continue to think about the talk on Chinese poetry. I'll be planting some chrysanthemums in my garden next summer, and although the view is not as inspiring as a view of the mountains, I know I will think about Tao Yuanming every time I look at them.

--Becca

[Anonymous]

I have learned so much about the chinese philosophy through this class. I wasn't aware of the four philosophies until taking this seminar. I see some value in all, which makes since, because like anything, a rule, law, or philosophy is developed out of a need. I think how people tend to address a need is what differs. I believe is some rituals, and ceremonies, because I think that it is important to have a guide. How strick and to what degree we follow these rituals is where there tends to be a breakdown. Because we all have different personalities, and some people need more rules than others, is where the problems start. Some people can govern themselves, while others have no clue as to boundaries, or even a sense of right and wrong. I agree with some of the thoughts of Confusianism, but within that philosophy, I would have some concern.

[Anonymous]

As a Daoist,

My concern is focused on those items that deal with nature. In attempting to follow or understand the "Way" I am by no means qualified to render such a judgment on my father. Also, it is difficult to assess a judgment on man-made laws. Since I truly believe that government is corrupt and causes more strife, it is difficult for me to consider that my father did anything wrong. Therefore, I hope that nature will find him culpable of any wrong doing that he may have caused in the eyes of man.

[Anonymous]

My presentation (lesson) is on Chinese Philosophy. I am prepared to present on the 3 Philosophers that are listed in 6th grade standards - Confucianism (Confucius), Daoism (Laozi), and Legalism (Hanfeizi). Mohism does not show up anywhere and I will have to pull ideas from other resources so if anyone has anything that is 6th grade friendly I am open to knowing what you have. And Buddhism actually shows up in our lessons in India, but it is a great segway to complete the unit on India and then move right into China. With that, I get to present Buddhism twice - once in India and then again in China.

[Anonymous]

As a Daoist, I must say that it's only natural to break a law and therefore, my father is no different than I and you. We must go with whatever way we end up going. If we place too much value on materialistic things we will never achieve true happiness. Why make things complicated? That's all I have to say about that.

[Anonymous]

I thought that Professor Dube had an excellent way of allowing us to get a real feel for the 4 types of Chinese philosophies. Allowing us to debate issues and describe our views from the eyes of a Confucianist, Mohist, Daoist and Legalist was a good way to allow us to kinesthetically learn what these philosophies were about. It was a lot of fun being a Daoist and I would like to do a lesson plan that incorporates my students into developing their own philosophies from these so that they can also be interactively learning! =o)

Thanks, Professor Dube!

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